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Google’s search-based calculator is a bit of a God-send when it comes to impromptu math, but now the Big G has gone and extended its functionality by rolling out a full-on, 34-button scientific calculator. It’s got everything you really need in a calculator, numbers aside: trigonometric functions, logs, powers, pi, Euler’s number and even factorials…
For soliders out in the field chemical warfare is a very real threat, but while they can throw away their clothes and decontaminate their bodies, large equipment is more difficult to clean. Now military scientists have developed paint which literally sucks up the fallout from chemical attacks. The Engineer reports that the UK-based Defence Science…
The concept of the power naps divides opinion: some people firmly stand by them, while others think they offer no tangible benefit at all. If you’re a doubter, this video may be enough to convince you that they really do work. The problem is, of course, getting the timings right: don’t sleep long enough and…
After teasing people at CES in January, Broadcom has finally announced the arrival of its new gigabit-speed Wi-Fi chips for mobile phones—and they’re going to make your internet connection at least three times faster. https://gizmodo.com/the-first-gigabit-speed-wi-fi-cards-will-make-streaming-5873386 The BCM 4335 chipset, announced by Broadcom today, is home to the 802.11ac Wi-Fi standard, which uses an 80 MHz…
As much as Twitter has grown over the years, it’s still a pretty bare bones service. Take for example its take on famous accounts, all Twitter does is slap a verified tag on it. But isn’t there more potential there? Couldn’t Twitter use verified badges to categorize Twitter accounts? College Humor thought so and cooked…
You know what they say about BBQ gear: the best grill is the one you have with you. So forget about spending thousands of dollars on a miniature backyard furnace when Bodum’s new FYRKAT grill is small enough to take with you wherever you go. At roughly twelve inches in diameter you won’t be grilling…
Out of the way Chewbacca hoodie and every single pointy object that’s ever been designed to look like a lightsaber. This officially licensed Chewbacca messenger bag is the best thing Lucasfilm has ever approved since The Empire Strikes Back. https://gizmodo.com/stay-as-warm-as-a-wookiee-in-this-hoodie-5872234 Instead of being covered in faux fur that will attract all kinds of fuzz and…
Quick, name the world’s most perfect food. Bananas you say? Wrong! You’re just a tool of the Big Banana marketing machine. The real answer, of course, would be gummy bears. Every handful gives you your recommended daily dose of red, green, yellow, and orange, and with this silicone gummy bear mould, you can now make…
Olympic Vermin Oh man, that was so much better than watching Will.I.Am text his way through a two mile jog. [Cartoon Brew] https://gizmodo.com/please-dont-tweet-that-youre-carrying-the-olympic-torch-5912369 Big Buddha Box Makes a Bid for World’s Biggest Basil The current world record for the largest harvested basil leaf (in terms of area) belongs to one Susan Sauter from West Virginia…
Sony’s New SAL55300 zoom lens is an all-purpose telephoto lens for Sony’s line of A-Mount cameras. It zooms considerably further than the existing 200mm SAL55200 for just $100 more. For a $300 lens, 5.5 times magnification is impressive zoom. As for other specs, the lens opens all the way up to f/4.5 when it’s zoomed…
Shrine, the first album from Montreal duo Purity Ring, dropped today, offering a lovely mix of hauntingly beautiful vocals, thumping beats and sparkling melodies. The above video is for “Fineshrine,” the fourth single off the record. It’s hard to exactly peg what genre the band is—a little bit shoegaze, a little bit witch house, a…
See’s Candies celebrated National Lollipop Day (which is apparently a thing) on July 20th by unveiling its record-breaking confection—a 7,003-pound version of the company’s signature Gourmet Lollipop—in San Francisco’s Justin Herman Plaza. The gargantu-lolli measured a whopping 4-foot, 8 3/4-inches in length, 3-foot 6-inches in width, and 5-foot 11-inches in height. It’s mounted on a…
You could go crazy with a backpack purchase—there are some giant models that would fit a military bunker’s worth of stuff. But what if you need something substantial that’s also appropriate for carting your laptop into the office each week? Uncrate has teamed up with Topo Designs for a lightweight day backpack ($89). If you…
The year? 1981. The place? Camp Firewood, where everyone’s trying to get laid before the summer is over. Wet Hot American Summer is the classic teen movie scenario: everyone’s trying to get a little action before the end of [insert memorable adolescent event] but they’re all striking out. Naturally, hilarity ensues. The off-beat 2001 flick…
This picture is badass. Here you see Navy SEALs demonstrating an exercise called Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction (SPIE) at Virginia Beach. SPIE is what happens when a patrol needs to be extracted from an area where a helicopter can’t land. Neat. And routine. But oh wait, is that, pray tell, a WAR DOG? Why yes, yes…
In terms of novel features or overall concept, there’s nothing out of the norm about Art of Kintetik’s 37-foot-long Antagonist boat. But the dark-hued woods and intimidating lines carry an aura of evil that makes you want to go out and do wrong after looking at the thing. [Art of Kinetik via Fubiz]
Make the bed, clean your room—chores are no fun, no matter how old you are. But ChoreMonster is trying to make them a bit more enjoyable for parents and kids. What does it do? ChoreMonster lets mom and dad assign chores with certain point values. Once kids amass a certain number of points, they can…
This is the 155mm Field Howitzer 77. It’s one of the deadliest artillery pieces in the world. It was manufactured by Swedish weapons company Bofors in the 80s, but this model is new—a complete mechanical and electronics overhaul over the old one. It is called the 155mm Field Howitzer 77 B02. The Indian Army is…
Apple just announced in its earnings call that OS X Mountain Lion is definitely coming out tomorrow. There have been rumors for a while now that that would be the date, but now it’s confirmed. So maybe get those backups cranked out tonight, eh? https://gizmodo.com/apple-sold-17-million-ipads-in-very-slightly-less-ridic-5928735
As part of their senior design project at Northeastern University, Glen Chiachhieri and seven other computer and electrical engineering students built this Wi-Fi repeating robot that’s designed to make it easier to deploy a wireless network in dangerous or hazardous places. The 150-pound treaded behemoth is actually strong enough to carry a 200-pound human passenger,…
